ICC prosecutor Karim Khan faces another sexual misconduct allegation

International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who is also facing a disqualification request from former president Rodrigo Duterte’s camp, is now confronted with a second sexual misconduct allegation.

Khan’s reputation was first shaken last year when an ICC staff member in her 30s accused him of abuse, which allegedly occurred between 2023 and 2024.

In an exclusive report by The Guardian on 28 August, a second woman came forward with her own account of misconduct while working closely with Khan as an unpaid intern in 2009, when he was serving as a defense lawyer before international tribunals.

Khan denies all allegations of sexual misconduct. However, he has temporarily stepped back from overseeing certain duties within the Office of the Prosecutor while an internal investigation into the first complaint is ongoing.

According to The Guardian, if Khan is found guilty of “serious breaches of his duties,” the ICC’s 125 member states could hold a secret ballot on whether he should remain in office.

Alleged narratives of abuse

Both women described similar experiences, claiming Khan would invite them to his home, sit close to them, touch and kiss them, and pressure them into more intimate situations.

The second complainant, given the pseudonym “Patricia” said she was in her 20s at the time of her unpaid internship. She initially called the opportunity “exciting and meaningful” but later said it “came at a price it shouldn’t have.”

She explained that she endured the situation because she needed a strong recommendation letter from Khan, which she eventually received but described as “a deal with the devil.”

Patricia added that she kept in touch with Khan for professional reasons but later cut ties after receiving what she described as a "weird message" from him in 2019 thanking her for being a "good company and a "very good friend."

She replied: “Karim, it does not make me happy to hear from you, that is why I do not respond. I wish you wouldn’t contact me, please don’t do it any more.” She did not hear from Khan again." From then, Khan stopped messaging her.

Khan’s response

Khan’s representatives rejected the allegations, saying: “It is wholly untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind.” His law firm, Carter-Ruck, said Khan is cooperating “fully and transparently” with the ongoing inquiry.

Link to Duterte case

Separately, Khan is also the subject of a disqualification bid filed by Duterte’s lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman. Contrary to some media reports, Kaufman clarified in a livestream interview by Alvin &Tourism on 26 August, that the motion was not withdrawn but refiled in June after new disclosures. What was published on the ICC website was the camp's previous motion filed on April.

Kaufman argued that Khan’s past role as a victims’ representative has compromised the fairness of the investigation against Duterte. The ICC Appeals Chamber has yet to issue a final ruling on this request.